Shoes convertible to roller skates

ABSTRACT

A shoe convertible to a skate includes an elongated recess in the bottom of the shoe completely containing a mounting block to which a mounting bracket of a wheel assembly is easily detachable. The wheel assembly has wheel support arms extending axially outwardly from opposite ends thereof for rotatably supporting wheels adjacent outer ends of the arms for supporting the shoe off the ground for skating when the wheel assembly is attached to the mounting block.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/288,137, filed May 2, 2001.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to shoes that can be easily converted from walking or running shoes to roller skates and vice versa.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The shoes of the present invention include an elongated recess in the bottom of the shoe sole in which is fixedly secured a mounting block to which a mounting bracket of a wheel assembly is easily detachable. The wheel assembly has wheel support arms extending axially outwardly from opposite ends of the mounting bracket for rotatably supporting wheels adjacent the outer ends of the arms. When the mounting bracket is suitably attached to the mounting block, the wheels protrude downward/outward a sufficient distance below the bottom surface of the sole adjacent opposite ends of the recess for supporting the shoe a sufficient distance above the ground for skating.

[0004] To convert the shoes over for walking, the mounting bracket is detached from the mounting block to permit the entire wheel assembly to be removed from the shoe as a unit and stored wherever desired during non-use. The recess in the bottom of the shoe sole and the wheel assembly are configured so that the entire wheel assembly can be stored in the recess on its side in a flat condition below the bottom surface of the sole with the mounting bracket inserted between one side of the mounting block and the adjacent side of the recess and the wheels supported by the wheel support arms lying flat within opposite ends of the recess.

[0005] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and annexed drawings setting forth in detail an illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bottom portion of a shoe of the present invention having an elongated recess in which is detachably mounted a wheel assembly to permit the shoe to be selectively used for walking or skating.

[0007]FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the shoe and wheel assembly of FIG. 2.

[0008]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bottom portion of the shoe similar to FIG. 1 but showing the wheel assembly detached from the shoe and stored on its side in a flat condition completely within the recess so as not to interfere when the shoe is used for walking.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED INVENTION

[0009] Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a sole portion 1 of one of a pair of matching shoes 2 of the present invention. The top portion of the shoe 2 is not shown, but may be of any desired size or shape and laced or otherwise secured around the wearer's foot in conventional manner. In the bottom 3 of the sole portion 1 of the shoe is an elongated recess 4 that extends substantially the full length of the sole portion. Fixedly attached to the bottom wall 5 of the recess 4 is a mounting plate 6 on which is permanently mounted a rectangular shape center mounting block 7 for removably attaching a wheel assembly 10 to the bottom of the shoe as described hereafter.

[0010] The mounting plate 6 is permanently secured to the bottom wall of the elongated recess 4 as by mounting studs or the like. The mounting block 7 extends outwardly from the mounting plate 6 intermediate the ends thereof a distance/height that is less than the depth of the recess 4 so that the mounting block does not protrude outwardly beyond the bottom 3 of the sole of the shoe.

[0011] The wheel assembly 10 includes a channel shaped mounting bracket 11 having a pair of spaced apart wheel support arms 12, 13 extending axially outwardly from opposite ends of the bracket for mounting roller blade type wheels 14 between the outer ends of the wheel support arms. The wheels 14 are supported by wheel shafts 15 and wheel screws 16 extending through aligned openings 17, 18 adjacent the outer ends of the wheel support arms.

[0012] Mounting bracket 11 is dimensioned to have a close sliding fit over the center mounting block 7 with the sides 26 of the mounting bracket 11 extending along opposite sides 27 of the mounting block and the bottom wall 28 of the bracket engaging the outer wall 29 of the mounting block over a length of several inches as schematically shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for increased stability.

[0013] The wheel assembly 10 may be easily removably attached to the mounting block 7 in any suitable manner, for example, by inserting one or more screws 20 through one or more holes 21 in the bottom wall 28 of the mounting bracket 11 and into threaded engagement with aligned threaded holes 22 in the mounting block. However, it will be appreciated that any type of suitable fastening means could be used to easily removably attach the mounting bracket of the wheel assembly to the mounting block including, for example, a latch mechanism such as a toggle latch or the like.

[0014] When the mounting bracket 11 of the wheel assembly 10 is suitably attached to the mounting block 7 as schematically shown in FIG. 1, the wheels 14 extend downwardly/outwardly a sufficient distance below the bottom 3 of the sole 1 adjacent opposite ends of the recess 4 to fully support the shoe 2 a sufficient distance off the ground for skating. The extent to which the wheels 14 protrude outwardly beyond the bottom of the shoe may be increased by increasing the downward/outward curvature of the wheel support arms 12, 13 toward the outer ends of the mounting bracket 11 as schematically shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0015] To convert the shoes 2 so that they may be used for walking, the fastener that is used to hold the mounting bracket 11 to the mounting block 7 is detached from the mounting block to permit the entire wheel assembly 10 to be removed from the bottom of the shoe as a unit and stored wherever desired when not in use. However, the recess 4 in the bottom of the sole of the shoe and the wheel assembly 10 are desirably configured so that the entire wheel assembly can be stored completely within the recess on its side in a flat condition with the mounting bracket 11 positioned between one side of the mounting block 7 and the adjacent side of the recess 4 and the wheel support arms 12, 13 curving inwardly toward the center of the recess for supporting the wheels 14 lying flat within semi-cylindrical portions 25 of the recess adjacent opposite ends thereof as schematically shown in FIG. 3. The wheel assembly 10 may be retained in the stored position within the recess 4 by friction or by providing a suitable latch mechanism as desired.

[0016] Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain embodiment, it is obvious that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of the specification. In particular, with regard to the various functions performed by the above described components, the terms (including any reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed component which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiment of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one embodiment, such feature may be combined with one or more features of other embodiments as may be desired or advantageous for any given or particular application. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A shoe convertible to a skate, the shoe having a bottom surface containing a recess, a mounting support completely within the recess, and a wheel assembly having a mounting bracket removably attachable to the mounting support, the wheel assembly having wheel support arms extending axially outwardly from opposite ends of the mounting bracket, and wheels rotatably supported by the wheel support arms for supporting the shoe off the ground for skating when the wheel assembly is attached to the mounting support.
 2. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the mounting support has straight sides and the mounting bracket is channel shaped to have a close sliding fit over the straight sides of the mounting support.
 3. The shoe of claim 2 wherein the mounting bracket has a bottom wall that engages an outer wall of the mounting support over a length of several inches for increased stability.
 4. The shoe of claim 1 further comprising a fastener for removably attaching the mounting bracket to the mounting support.
 5. The shoe of claim 4 wherein the fastener comprises at least one screw extending through the mounting bracket into threaded engagement with the mounting support.
 6. The shoe of claim 4 wherein the mounting bracket has a bottom wall that is releasably fastened to the mounting support by the fastener.
 7. The shoe of claim 6 wherein the fastener comprises a screw that extends through a hole in the bottom wall of the mounting bracket into threaded engagement with a threaded hole in the mounting support.
 8. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the mounting bracket is channel shaped and has a close sliding fit over the mounting support, and a pair of spaced apart wheel support arms extend axially outwardly from both ends of the mounting support for rotatably supporting a wheel between each pair of wheel support arms.
 9. The shoe of claim 1 wherein the recess is configured for storing the wheel assembly completely within the recess when the wheel assembly is detached from the mounting support.
 10. A shoe convertible to a skate comprising a sole having a bottom surface, an elongated recess in the bottom surface, a mounting block completely within the recess, and a wheel assembly including a mounting bracket removably attachable to the mounting block, the mounting bracket having wheel support arms extending axially outwardly from opposite ends of the mounting bracket, and wheels rotatably supported adjacent outer ends of the wheel support arms for supporting the shoe above the ground for skating when the wheel assembly is attached to the mounting block.
 11. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the mounting block is rectangular in shape and the mounting bracket is channel shaped to have a close sliding fit over the mounting block.
 12. The shoe of claim 11 further comprising a fastener for removably attaching the mounting bracket to the mounting block.
 13. The shoe of claim 12 wherein the fastener comprises at least one screw that extends through a hole in a bottom wall of the mounting bracket into threaded engagement with a threaded hole in the mounting block.
 14. The shoe of claim 10 wherein the recess is configured to completely receive the wheel assembly when the wheel assembly is detached from the mounting block.
 15. The shoe of claim 14 wherein the wheel assembly is storable on its side within the recess when detached from the mounting block with the mounting bracket received between the mounting block and an adjacent side of the recess and the wheels lying flat within the recess.
 16. The shoe of claim 15 wherein the recess has semi-cylindrical shaped ends that receive the wheels when lying flat.
 17. The shoe of claim 16 wherein the wheel support arms curve inwardly toward the center of the recess when the wheel assembly is placed on its side within the recess to support the wheels lying flat within the semi-cylindrical shaped ends of the recess.
 18. The shoe of claim 15 wherein the wheel assembly is retained in a stored position within the recess by friction. 